LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Wednesday night's NBA Draft will be the fourth and final draft with G League Ignite products hearing their names called.
Launched in 2020 and moving from California to Henderson in 2022, the developmental team played two seasons at the Dollar Loan Center, now named Lee's Family Forum.
The Ignite went 13-53 over two seasons in the valley, a lowly 2-32 this past campaign. But that doesn’t mean the project was a failure. Its purpose was to be an alternative to college for young stars, developing them into NBA-ready players.
Well, mission accomplished. The organization has produced 10 NBA players in four years. And three more are expected to be selected Wednesday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Per mock drafts, Matas Buzelis is a projected top-5 pick. The 19-year-old, 6-foot-10 Lithuanian was one of the top players of the 2023 high school class. He played 26 games in his lone season with the Ignite, averaging 14 points a contest.
“We got way better this year, all of us," Buzelis said in an interview with the G League media team. "We were so raw, we could be so much better, and did. I wanted to play against the best competition and I wanted to be coached by NBA coaches, NBA trainers.”
Another projected top-10 pick, Ron Holland was the 2nd-ranked 2023 high school prospect in the nation. However, he was limited to only 14 games for the Ignite due to injury. But he shined when available, averaging a nearly 20 point-per-game clip.
“What it means to play for Ignite, I came to this program because I wanted to learn how to be a professional basketball player and I wanted to do it quickly," Holland said. "I feel like this program has done a lot to help that. Everybody has information and knowledge you can gain. There was no dull moment in this program. Every single day it was how can we get better at this but have fun doing it.”
Flirting with first-round status is Tyler Smith, a 6-foot-11 forward out of Houston, Texas who averaged 13+ points over 27 games played for the Ignite.
“I feel like the G League prepared me just by playing against guys that drafted a year prior," Smith said. "Getting feedback from them on what they did to stay on their team and get playing time or get moved back up, or why they came down to the team. And learn the pro terminology early.”
Those three prospects — Buzelis, Holland, and Smith — can put the final number of Ignite players sent to the NBA at 13.
The NBA Draft begins at 5PM and you can watch on Channel 13.
